Improved machine for paring fruit and vegetables



'UNITED STATES.` PATENT GTT-Ten.

ASAHEL G. BATOHELDEB, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVED MACHINE FOR PARING FRUIT AND VEGETABLES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 103,830, dated June 7,1870.

To all persons to whom these presents may come:

Be it known that I, ASAHEL G. BATCHEL- DER, of Lowell, ofthe county ofMiddlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulinvention having reference to Machines for Paring Fruits or Vegetables;and do hereby declare the same to be fully described in the followingspecification and represented in the accompanying drawing, of which-Figure l is a top view, and Fig. 2 a front elevation, of an apple-parerprovided with my invention. Fig. is a bottom or under-side view of it.

My invention has reference to mechanism for returning or restoring toits position, to commence the paring oi an apple, fruit, or

` vegetable, the knife, immediately after an apple, fruit, orveget-ablemay have been pared. In stead of the knife-carrier havin g a continuo usrotarymotion imparted to it, it has a reciprocating rotary motion, andis not retracted by a spring, as in other machines, but is returned by amechanism which restores it to place without any such concussion asgenerally results when a spring is employed.

In the drawing, A denotes the frame of the machine, as provided with aclamp-screw, B, for iixing it to a bench or table'. This frame supports,in proper bearings au, a drivingshaft, (l, provided at its inner endwith a beveled pinion, b. The said shaft also has a spur-gear, c, ixedon it, which is furnished with a crank, d, and enga-ges with a pinion,e, iixed on the rotary fork-shaftf, arranged at the upper part oftheframe. The fork for supporting and revolving an apple while being paredis shown at D. The beveled pinion b engages with a beveled table-gear,E, supported on a pivot or pin, g, which is erected on an arm, h, makingpart of the frame A.

In the paring-machine described in Letters Patent No. 87,322, datedMarch 2, 1869, and granted to me, the lever for supporting the knifestock or frame is represented as pivoted to the table-gear, so as torevolve continuously with it, such lever being operated in otherrespects by a helical spring and by a cam, the latter being iixed to ormaking part of the arm for supporting the table-gear. In my presentmachine the lever for supporting the knife is not pivoted to thetable-gear, but to an internaltoothed sector, F, which turns on the`pivot or pin g of the table-gear, and is arranged directly over and soas to extend beyond the table-gear, in manner as repreresented in thedrawing. In such drawing the knife carrierV or lever is shown at G, itsshaft or fulcrum being exhibited' at t' as resting in bearings It 7c,projecting upward from the sector. The retractive spring Z of theknife-carrier encompasses the fulcrum thereof and is hooked around thecarrier, and also about a stud, m, extended from the sector. A helicalspring, n, arranged on the pivot or pin g, and directly underneath itshead, presses against the latter and down upon the hub of the sector.jFurthermore, the table-gear is furnished with a cam, o, for operatingthe knife-carrier, whose lower arm, p, rests on the said cam.

Fig. 4 ot' the drawing is a top view, and Fig. 5 a side or edgeelevation, ot' the table-gear and its cam o, the purpose of such cambeing to cause or aid in causing the knife, after having pared an apple,to bemovedaway therefrom, and to be maintained away therefrom most ofthe time during the return movement of the knife, the sameA being forthe purpose of enabling the discharger or lever H to cast the apple oftthe fork lwithout any impediment from the knife stock or carrier.

One of the teeth of the table-gear is extended beyond the periphery ofsuch gear in manner as represented, so as to constitute an ear orprojection, p', and the table-gear also has an are, q, of spur-gearteeth, formed on its periphery, the arc being a little greater than asemi-circumference of a circle. Furthermore, there is a cam, r, extendedfrom the periphery of the table-gear, the purpose of such cam being toactuate the discharger H in one direction, such discharger beingprovided with a retractive spring, s, for pulling it back to itsrearmost position. The dischargcr H, arranged as represented in thedrawing, is a lever pivoted to the frame A, the pivot or fulcrum beingshown at t.

The sector F has a row of internal gearteeth, fa, to engage with apinion, o, pivoted to the arm of the frame, and arranged relatively tothe table-gear in manner as represented. The sector also has a cam, w,extended down from it at or near one extremity of its are. Directly overthis cam there is a shoulder, formed on the sector. The said shoulderand cam are particularly exhibited in Fig. 6, which is an edge viewofthe sector.

The arm 71, is provided with a hook, y, to extend around and embrace thetoothed sector in manner as shown in Fig. 2.

On revolving the driving-shaft of the machine the fork will be put inrevolution, and when supplied with the apple the latter Will be revolvedwith the fork. The table-gear will have a continuous rotary motionimparted to it, and the knife will be turned half around the apple, thesector, in the meantime, being caused, by the stud or projection p', tomove with the table-gear. While the apple is being pared the are ofspur-teeth of the table-gear will not be in engagement with the pinionc, which, in the meantime, will be in engagement with and will berevolved by the internal gear-teeth of the sector.

0n or immediately after completion of the paring of the apple the cam wofthe toothed sector Will be forced against the arm z, and, continuingto move, will raise th eisector above the stud p', so as to enable thetable-gear to continue its motion wi thout carrying the sector with it.The advance motion of the sector will be checked or estopped by theshoulder :v and the hook y, the shoulder being carried against the hook.The table-gear will now be engaged y with the pinion o, and, continuingto revolve, will turn such pinion so as to cause it to impart a returnmovement to the sector. During the return movement of the sector theknifelever Will be actuated by the cam o, and the cam r of thetable-gear will operate the apple-discharger, so as to cause it to forcethe apple from the fork.

While the sector is in its return, it, by the action ofthe knife-lever,its spring l, and cam 0, will be kept up out of the way of theprojection or stud p; but, on the completion of the return movementofthe sector, the foot of the knife-lever will drop into the space abetween the ends of the cam o, in which case the spring l will be freeto advance the knife-lever, so as to force the knife up to its positionto commence to pare. The spring on the pivot of the table-gear andsector will also depress the latter, in order to enable it to be againmoved by the projection p. When the sector has attained halt' of itsreturn movement the discharger will be advanced and Will cast the appleoit the fork.

The clamp-screw or clamping devices of the frame of the above-describedmachine are not to be considered as entering into or making part of myinvention, as they are common to other apple parers and machines.

I claim- 1. The combination and arrangement of thc toothed sector F andits operative mechanism, substantially as described-viz., the projectionp', the toothed are q, the pinion c, the cam ze, shoulder x, hook y, andthe spring a.

2. Also, the combination and arrangement of the toothed sector F and itsoperative mechanism with the table-gear E and the knife-lever G, itsspring and cam, and with the discharger H, provided with mechanism foractuating it, as and for the purpose as eX- plained.

3. Also, as my invention, an apple-paring machine composed ofinstrumentalities substantially as described, whereby, by Whoseoperation, an apple may be revolved and pared, and subsequently beejected from the fork of the machine, and the operative parts berestored to their places or normal positions, ready for effecting theparing and discharging of another apple.

ASAHEL G. BATOHELDER.

Witnesses:

R. H. EDDY, S. N. PIPER.

